The CCC's 2026 report A Well-Adapted UK estimates around £11bn a year is needed for adaptation, roughly half public and half private, and finds no mechanism to coordinate, guarantee or track that split. Flood-defence funding of £4.2bn over multiple years exists and is narrow. No standing adaptation-finance vehicle exists, Flood Re expires in 2039 with no successor scheme designed, and the Environment Agency is not yet empowered to oversee delivery across all flood sources.
The CCC shows adaptation underinvestment is cheaper to fix now than to pay for in damages later. Without a finance mechanism and a designed Flood Re successor, private capital stays sidelined, and low-income households in high-risk homes face uninsurability after 2039.
A national adaptation-finance mechanism blending public and private money, with a project pipeline and mandatory reporting, and a designed Flood Re successor that rewards resilience measures and protects low-income households.
// State-led: Instrument: Treasury/Defra blended adaptation-finance mechanism with mandatory reporting plus statutory Flood Re successor design.
Underinvestment costs more later and Flood Re expires in 2039 with no successor, and the finance vehicle is complex with no this-year trigger.